The quantitative or qualitative assessment of an individual’s risk of carrying a certain gene mutation, or developing a particular disorder, or of having a child with a certain disorder; sometimes done by using mathematical or statistical models incorporating such factors as personal health history, family medical history and ethnic background. OR A process used to estimate the risk that a certain event will happen. In medicine, this may include a person’s risk of having a child with a certain condition or disease, such as cancer. It may also be used to estimate the risk of carrying a certain gene mutation (change), or of having an adverse event (unexpected medical problem) in response to certain types of drugs or other substances. A risk assessment may be done by collecting information about a person’s age, sex, personal and family medical history, ethnic background, lifestyle, and other factors and using statistics tools to calculate risk.